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Reading TFA, it looks as if she didn't sell the password, she gave it away to be helpful, and the contractor only later gave her the $2000 (and gift cards) as a present. I.e. she didn't realise what she was doing, that the password she gave him permitted him, basically, to authorise any bill he chose to submit. So she is primarily guilty of total stupidity rather than criminal intent. Maybe, for the good of the species, such stupidity should be treated as even more criminal - but it isn't.

What this makes clear, yet again, is that the human is the weakest point in any system, and any human who has not received positive training in security is a very weak point indeed. Which says that, whatever the physical security, any government database with thousands of users, let alone hundreds of thousands as planned form some, will be subverted, for certain, within months.

I dunno, I'd be fine with one million. Keep it in a secure location (you can afford a nice fireproof safe with that much) and just use it to augment your current lifestyle. Don't make outlandish purchases. One million in hundreds isn't that large either: http://www.cockeyed.com/inside/million/million.html [cockeyed.com]

That's the rub though: being careful with it. You can't blow it on Rodeo Drive day one. Limit yourself to a grand a month and spread it around. Can probably deposit some in your normal account occassionally. Explaining 1M at once? Problem. Explaining 1M over 20, 30 years? Much easier.

In Detroit here we had a 1.2 BILLION dollar deal that was approved by city council only after someone got a $5,000 or $10,000 bribe. You might have heard of Monica Conyers or perhaps her husband, John Conyers.

The way it works here is you hire a "consultant" who supposedly puts you in touch with the right people. What actually happens is the consultant pockets half of the consultant fee, and gives the other half to the person you want to influence. And then the vote changes.

A few people are already on their way to jail, but it's nothing compared to the cost to the city and the hundreds of workers who lost their jobs as a result of the deal.